?40 THE PHILOSOPHY 



Live animals, as long as the vital principle remains In 

 them, are not afFedled by the folvent powers of the flomach. 



* Hence it is,' Mr. Hunter remarks, « that we find animals 



< of various kinds living in the ftomach, or even hatched and 

 « bred there ; but the moment that any of thefc lofe the liv- 



< ing principle, they become fubjec^ to the digeftive powers 



* of the flomach. If it were poflible, for example, for a man's 

 *hand to be introduced into the flomach of a living animal, 



* and kept there for fome confiderable time, it would be found 

 « that the dilTolvent powers of the flomach could have no 

 ' efFe£l upon it : But, if the fame hand were feparated from 



< the body, and introduced into the fame flomach, we fhould 



* then find, that the flomach w^ould immediately adl upon it. 



< Indeed, if this were not the cafe, we fliould find that the 

 « flomach itfelf ought to have been made of indigeflible ma- 



* terials ; for, if the living principle was not capable of pre- 



* ferving animal fubftances from undergoing that procefs, 



* the flomach itfelf would be digefled. But we find on the 



* contrary, that the flomach, which at one inflant, that is , 



* while pofTefTed of the living principle, was capable of refifl- 



* ing the digeflive powers wdiich it contained, the next mo- 



< ment, viz. when deprived of the living principle. Is itfelf 



< capable of being digefled, either by the digeflive powers of 

 « other ftomachs, or by the remains of that power which it 



* had of digefling other things.' 



When bodies are opened fome time after death, a confid- 

 erable aperture is frequently found at the greatefl extremity 

 of the flomach. « In thefe cafes,' fays Mr, Hunter, ' the 



* contents of the ftomach are generally found loofe in th$ 

 « cavity of the abdomen, about the fpleen and diaphragm. 



* In many fubjecls, this digeflive power extends much farth- 



< er than through the flomach. I have often found, that, 

 « after it had dlffolved the ftomach at the ufual place, the 

 ^ contents of the flomach had come into conta(St with the 



